Saturday found us back at the Uptown for two films, before enjoying some aprés film banter and then a birthday party in Ballard.

Up first was a surreal Australian coming-of-age story called Girl Asleep. Set in what could have been the late 1970s or early 1980s, or maybe No Time, our heroine makes the transition from not-girl to almost-woman by transporting to the fantasy world of an old, possibly magical, music box. Fun to watch eye candy, there is nothing new as far as the general plot and “moral” of the story go, but overall quite a nice film. Even nicer, it was sponspored by Snoqualmie Ice Cream who handed out free samples afterward. (It was preceded by the short film “Driftwood Dustmites” – ten minutes, but I could not wait for it to be over.) I see Girl Asleep has been picked by Oscilloscope, so it should be available for viewing in the near future. Bechdel Test: PASS.

We were joined by a couple friends for Kedi, a documentary about the special relationship cats have with the city of Istanbul. Like Neko Atsume but with real cats (BTW – two dudes sitting in front of us for My Blind Brother immediately each checked their game when the film was over). We are introduced to several cats and the humans who have assumed the role of caretaker for them. The cats have free reign over Istanbul, and they are many. Amazingly, I think the film could have used more cats (just like this paragraph). There were too many shots of the city itself – expansive views of the skyline, overhead shots of the old buildings, shift tilted vistas of the harbor. I get it, it’s not just about the cats.

We headed over to a nearby coffeehouse to discuss, and yet another coffee-related mishap befell me. This time I did not even want coffee, but ordered a peppermint steamer (presumably syrup and steamed milk). I was handed a cappuccino. In a way, it may have been making up for the spilled coffee of the previous day, or maybe the universe is just messing with me.